Higher Education News

M. Dolores Cimini, who is blind, says the path to careers in science and math for the disabled is not always clear, and students need to recognize opportunities when they arise.

Rainy-day funds, generally considered to be prudent measures, are targets of legislators unfamiliar with multibillion-dollar enterprises like state universities.

Michigan State's new Broad Museum is the latest in a line of campus art galleries that goes back centuries.

James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University, advised the driver kidnapped by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

In an era of uncertain support for the arts, they live and thrive on college campuses.

Faculty at several colleges have pushed back against online teaching collaborations with outside vendors, saying they want to use technology on their own terms.

Hopkins's next academic-affairs leader is an interim dean at Columbia, and Babson's is the college's graduate dean. Read about that and other job-related news.

Education researchers play an invaluable role in formulating policy, from preschool to grad school, Secretary Arne Duncan told the attendees of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in San Francisco this week where he laid out a vision for where assessment is going, and engaged researchers on the role they play in improving education. “You are the experts. You are the independent truth-tellers,” he said.

Duncan’s speech to AERA examined the major issues facing students, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in today’s education environment. Duncan noted that the role of the independent expert is not at odds with asking hard questions about the practical implications of research, as well as assisting practitioners to improve education outcomes. “Rigor is necessary but not sufficient. Relevance matters,” Duncan said.

In an effort to make education research more relevant, Duncan challenged the research community to consider two items:

1. To do a more complete job of asking comparative questions in research and evaluation.
2. To remain open to findings that contradict or compel a rethinking of the conventional wisdom.

Secretary Duncan also addressed standardized assessments, saying they are still a needed tool for transparency and accountability. “We should never, ever return to the days of concealing achievement gaps with school averages, no-stakes tests, and low standards,” he said. “A new generation of high-quality assessments must be a cornerstone of America regaining its educational leadership. And researchers, with rigor and relevance, must help lead forth that effort.”

Read the full text of Duncan’s speech: Choosing the Right Battles: Remarks and a Conversation.

A statement from a national council is intended to prompt policy makers and test designers to think more fully about the pitfalls of machine scoring.

Under the proposal, the university would report on its Web site the average grades in academic programs, to provide context and to thwart grade inflation.

A dispute involving an evolutionary theorist escalated from claims of fraud to accusations of violent behavior.

The result was a major victory for the Service Employees International Union's effort to organize the instructors across the Washington, D.C., area.

Students graduating from college this year overestimate their chances of getting well-paying, full-time jobs.

The Rev. Donald J. Harrington had come under fire for accepting lavish gifts from a former dean accused of embezzlement at the New York institution.

In an open letter, the San Jose professors worry that public higher education will suffer if scholar-student interaction is replaced with videotaped content.

Some colleges are limiting work hours before a new health law takes effect. In Michigan, that led to a labor complaint. National groups are speaking up, too.

In response to a Congressional proposal on NSF spending, a top official in the Obama administration says it would be a mistake to turn lawmakers into peer reviewers.

Cross-posted from Joining Forces.

With more than a million veterans returning home to our nation’s shores over the next five years, we have an unprecedented opportunity – and a civic obligation – to strengthen their pathways to success. To prepare for their return home and their transition back to civilian life, the Obama Administration sought – early on– to bring diverse government partners to the table, calling for an interagency planning effort to support Service members’ career readiness.

In response to President Obama’s call to action for a career-ready military in August 2011, the Veterans Employment Initiative Task Force was launched, under the leadership of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. This interagency effort has brought together a collaboration of federal agencies – including Education, the Small Business Administration, Labor, Homeland Security and the Office of Personnel Management, as well as our military services and National Guard and Reserves –  as partners, working together on the first major redesign of the military’s Transition Assistance Program in over twenty years to develop a comprehensive, outcome-based re-entry program now called Transition Goals, Plans, Success (Transition GPS).

Each of the partner federal agencies is contributing leadership and resources to activate the implementation of Transition GPS, in accordance with the VOW to Hire Heroes Act signed into law November 21, 2011. Key to this work has been the development of a core 3-day curriculum, career readiness standards, three optional tracks for transition (Higher Education, Technical Training, and Entrepreneurship), as well as options for learning in brick-and-mortar classrooms and online. Throughout their participation, Service members will receive individualized counseling and support in the preparation of a transition plan. The program also provides Service members who are exiting active duty with an education transcript, resume, access to labor market information, employment and housing opportunities, benefits information, mentoring resources, and other support services.

Based on lessons learned from as early as 1991 when Congress mandated that a Transition Assistance Plan be enacted,  this redesign is guided by the view that preparation for the transition from military to civilian life should begin upon entry to boot camp. Transition GPS is the way forward, ensuring that our separating military men and women prepare for educational advancement and career opportunities throughout their lives. With the availability of military training, courses, and online certificate and degree opportunities, Service members will design an individual education and career plan to guide their future, both during and after their term of duty.

Today, many colleges and universities provide academic credit for individual courses, full programs of study and prior learning acquired on ships, during combat and at base locations worldwide. In the next few years, Transition GPS will provide the pathways for veterans re-entering their communities with career-ready education and training for success in the workforce. Some will exit having earned their high school diplomas, GEDs, and/or their associates’, bachelors’ or masters’ degrees. Others will seamlessly continue their education or training following their military careers in quality, affordable educational programs, taking advantage of internships or apprenticeships to be fully ready for their chosen careers.

Federal agency partners working with Military and Veterans Service Organizations have committed to maximizing resources, aligning benefits for Service members, and reducing duplication and system inefficiencies to best facilitate Service members’ transition to civilian life. More than 60 percent of jobs will require some postsecondary education or training: we want all of our veterans to take advantage of the variety of benefits available to them, so that they can choose an educational program with good job prospects that will serve them well.

Our collective goal – aspiring for every veteran to have a seamless pathway to pursuing future employment opportunities with career-ready knowledge and skills for success – is ambitious, but Transition GPS is a key component in strengthening that journey. Whether a veteran needs financial planning, an educational program like Troops to Teachers, help on campus from an experienced counselor, claims assistance, disability or other medical services from the VA, guidance on accessing federal student aid or navigating college and university opportunities, or help from the SBA to set up a small business, we stand at an extraordinary moment in time to welcome our men and women home and serve  them and their families better than we’ve ever done in the past to prepare them for bright and prosperous futures.

Rosye Cloud is the Director of Policy for Veterans, Wounded Warriors and Military Families at the White House. Martha Kanter is the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.